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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28092861">New Look</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/SiriuslyEmily/pseuds/SiriuslyEmily'>SiriuslyEmily</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Absent Interludes [4]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Kingdom Hearts (Video Games)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Gen, Identity Issues, Lea isn't sure who he's supposed to be, Missing Scene, but maybe that isn't such a bad thing</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 20:20:29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,000</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28092861</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/SiriuslyEmily/pseuds/SiriuslyEmily</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>After the battle, Lea finally tries on his new clothes, and isn't quite sure how to feel about them.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Absent Interludes [4]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2069040</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>40</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>From the Ashes: A LeAxel zine</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>New Look</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I wrote this for the From The Ashes zine! Please check out everyone else's pieces for it, we all worked really hard! ^^</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Lea stood in an unused room in the Radiant Garden castle’s infirmary, frowning down at a suitcase laying open on a dusty bed. The battle was over, and while Sora and Kairi were still missing, everyone else was patched up, safe and sound. There was no one Lea needed to bring home, no more big bads to fight, and since the Organization was gone for good, no more reason to wear his old black coat. Lea knew all of this, but now that he looked at what were supposed to be his new clothes, he found all his old doubts surging back.</p><p>It wasn’t that the new clothes were<em> bad </em>. The Fairies had done a good job, actually: dark colors, simple cuts, some flare in the form of patterns and sleek boots. They were certainly in better shape than his coat. Since the Organization members had to wear them constantly, their uniforms were sturdy enough, but Lea’s was showing signs of its long use - small tears, scorch marks, fraying hems. He couldn’t keep wearing it forever. Sighing, he grabbed the tip of one gloved finger with his teeth and tugged.</p><p>As he pulled the gloves off his hands, he remembered the very first time he had slipped them on, how he’d kept flexing his fingers at the unfamiliar tightness. The coat had felt similarly awkward, the strange weight of it hanging off his bony shoulders all the way down to the hem that brushed the ground when he walked. He’d been certain he would never get used to wearing it, taking it off in the safety of his or Isa’s rooms as soon as they’d returned from a mission. As the weeks and then months had worn on, though, the gloves grew more pliant, the fit of the coat more familiar, until he’d grown so used to wearing them that he rarely even took them off to sleep. By the time he’d realized he had stopped thinking of himself as Lea, the coat had become like a second skin.</p><p>Lea unzipped the coat, but hesitated as he caught sight of himself in the mirror. <em> This is how you pick me out of a crowd. I make myself easy to remember. </em> Even among a dozen others in the same coat, Axel had always been memorable: all flash and razor edges, with a sharp grin and sharper attitude. He’d crafted a fire-bright persona, molding it around the hollowness beneath his ribs until even he couldn’t remember when it had stopped being an act. </p><p>He was still staring at his reflection. “C’mon, already,” he muttered as he turned away, yanking his arms through the tight coat sleeves until he could shrug it off. It landed with a <em> fwump </em>on the floor. It didn’t look as impressive without a body filling it out, just a messy heap that reminded him a little too much of crumpled skin left behind by a molted snake.</p><p>Shaking his head, Lea pulled off his undershirt, piling the rest of his old clothes on top of the coat, before turning back to the suitcase. When Merlin had brought him and Kairi their new clothes, he hadn’t bothered looking at them. He’d wanted to be as recognizable as possible, even if it meant calling himself Axel again. It had been easier to go back to that name than he’d thought it would be.</p><p>Now he didn’t need to be Axel anymore, but he didn’t know that he was really <em> Lea </em> yet, either. Putting on new clothes and using a different name was a start, but even if he managed to convince everyone else that he’d changed, would he ever really believe it himself? </p><p>“Only one way to find out,” he murmured, and reached into the suitcase. He dressed as quickly as he could, avoiding the view in the mirror until every article was in place. Even without seeing the final results, it <em> felt </em> strange - the open air swirled over his bare arms and hands, and the heels of the boots tapped against the floor with an unfamiliar timbre. And the clothes were so <em> light </em>, even with all the layers. </p><p>When he finally lifted his gaze to the mirror, it was almost anticlimactic. The clothes didn’t look wrong, exactly, but they didn’t really look right either. They just looked... weird, like he was dressing up as someone almost but not quite himself.</p><p>He stared at the reflection for so long that a sudden knock on the door made him jump.</p><p>“Lea?” Isa called, his voice muffled. “Done yet?” </p><p>“Uh, yeah. Come in, Isa.” </p><p>The door opened, and Isa peaked inside. He’d thrown out his coat as soon as he’d woken up, but still wore the dark shirt and pants of their old uniform. Lea made a mental note to ask how far along the Fairies were with his friend’s outfit, and then turned, hands on his hips, looking more confident than he felt. “Whatcha think?”</p><p>“Hmm.” Isa looked him over closely. “It suits you.”</p><p>“Yeah? You sure?” </p><p>“Obnoxiously mismatched patterns? It’s perfect for you.” Isa smiled slightly. “You could always add a scarf.”</p><p>“Don’t give me any ideas.” </p><p>“Do <em> you </em>like it?”</p><p>Lea looked back to the mirror. “Not sure yet.” he said quietly. “Think I need to grow into it.”</p><p>“Take your time.” Isa glanced at the coat still heaped on the floor. “Are you going to keep that?”</p><p>For a moment, Lea almost said yes. As he stared down at his old clothes, though, he realized that now that he’d finally taken the coat off, he never wanted to wear it again. He’d had enough of being Axel. He just wanted to be Lea, whoever that was.</p><p>“Nah,” he said, raising his hand. “Time for a change.” </p><p>He snapped his fingers, and the coat ignited, the leather swiftly shriveling and smoking as the rest of his old clothes were engulfed along with it. They watched it burn in silence until nothing remained, save for a small heap of ash. <br/>
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